COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departments: Tribal Group

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contracts her Department awarded to  (a) Geronimo Communications Ltd. and  (b) its parent company Tribal Group plc. in each of the last three years; and what the cost was of each contract.

Angela Smith: The Department has not awarded any contracts to Geronimo Communications Ltd. in the last three years. A number of contracts have been awarded to Tribal Group though the detail of the spend for each contract could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However the total spend with Tribal Group over the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2004-05 378,619 
			 2005-06 622,093 
			 2006-07 587,410

Housing: Construction

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on red ash testing; and what guidance she has issued on red ash testing and floor replacement.

Angela Smith: Over a number of years the Department has received representation from a number of homeowners who have properties constructed using red ash. In the past the Communities and Local Government has not issued technical guidance specific to this issue but has referred individuals to related documents published by the Building Research Establishment. Work on a new guidance document 'Guidance for assessing sulphate bearing hardcore under domestic buildings' will be completed shortly and this guidance will then be made available.

Local Government

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) events,  (b) engagements and  (c) meetings (i) she, (ii) other Ministers in her Department and (iii) staff in her Department attended with (A) councillors and (B) officials of authorities bidding for unitary status between 1 February and 16 April 2007.

Phil Woolas: My colleagues and I and officials frequently meet members and officers of councils from across the country which may include councils that either have made unitary proposals or would be affected by such proposals.

Members: Correspondence

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to reply to the letter of 21 March 2007 from the hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald.

Ruth Kelly: I apologise for the delay in responding to the right hon. Member's letter.
	I will respond to the letter shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Minister of State expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 23 February 2007, on the Sustainable Communities Bill.

Phil Woolas: I responded to the hon. Member's letter on 19 March 2007. I have arranged for a copy of that letter to be resent.

Regional Planning and Development: Gloucestershire

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what amendments affecting Gloucestershire were made to the South West Regional Spatial Strategy following the consultation in 2006; and whether such amendments were recommended by  (a) Assembly officers,  (b) the Government Office of the South West,  (c) the South West Regional Development Agency,  (d) her Department,  (e) local authorities,  (f) commercial interests,  (g) community representatives and  (h) members of the public.

Meg Munn: No amendments have been made to the draft South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) following the consultation in 2006 when it was submitted to the Secretary of State for her consideration. The draft RSS is at an Examination-in-Public now and so any proposed changes will be considered in the light of this.

Unitary Councils

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) she and  (b) other Ministers in her Department met representatives from (i) any council that has bid for unitary status and (ii) any councils affected by such bids between October 2006 and 27 March 2007.

Angela Smith: My colleagues and I frequently meet members of councils from across the country which may include councils that either have made unitary proposals or would be affected by such proposals.

Unitary Councils

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish an assessment of the 26 proposals for future unitary structures which have been submitted to her Department by local authorities against the criteria in her October 2006 invitation.

Phil Woolas: The reasons for my right hon. Friend's decisions are set out in the decision letters of 27 March 2007. These can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l509144
	Copies of the letters have been placed in the Library of the House.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Cultural Heritage: Iraq

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds have been allocated by her Department to protect sites of cultural heritage in Iraq since 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: My Department's response to the heritage crisis in Iraq has been via the bodies which it funds, most notably the British Museum. The DCMS has and will continue to support the museum's work in this area.
	The British Museum has:
	provided expertise and training on conservation and site management;
	sent two archaeologists to Iraq who were instrumental in co-ordinating the quick supply of a wide range of desperately needed materials and equipment to the Baghdad Museum; and
	arranged and managed (with additional funding of £15,000 from the DCMS) a project that allowed three interns coming from the Iraqi Ministry of Culture to learn the skills necessary for the future management of the Babylon archaeological site.
	In addition to the work of the British Museum, the British Library has also provided expertise and support. It was able to work with the Iraq National Library and Archive, supplying surrogate material to replace that which was lost during the conflict.

Gambling Act 2005

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the measures her Department has put in place to address in the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 the project management weaknesses highlighted in paragraphs 51 to 54 of the Better Regulation Commission's Report on the Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

Tessa Jowell: In response to the advice set out at paragraphs 51 to 54 of the Better Regulation Commissioner's Report on the Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, the Department has put in place the following measures:
	robust programme management arrangements that draw on lessons learned from implementing the Licensing Act 2003;
	a ministerial commitment, which has been honoured, to local authorities that there would be a period of three months between laying of relevant secondary legislation and the assumption of their new duties;
	provision for a system of "continuation rights" designed to give those businesses that take advantage of the opportunity reassurance about their ability to operate legally in the event that applications are not processed in time for the coming into force of the new regime.

Gambling Act 2005

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has used a cross-sector pilot group to test the application requirements and forms for the licences required by the Gambling Act 2005 as recommended by the Better Regulation Commissioner's Report on the Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

Tessa Jowell: In light of the Better Regulation Commission's recommendations, the Department and the Gambling Commission piloted all application and other forms with industry representatives and licensing authorities. The original proposals were modified significantly as a result of the comments received. The Department and the Gambling Commission held consultative meetings on other aspects of the licensing regime to ensure that we drew on existing best practice wherever possible as well as lessons learned from implementing the Licensing Act 2003.

Licensing Act 2003

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the Better Regulation Commission's report on the Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: Following a meeting in October, the Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism agreed with the chairman of the Better Regulation Commission measures to progress the issues raised in the commission's report. These measures were incorporated into the Department's Better Regulation Simplification Plan which was published in December 2006. Recommendations such as the discretion to correct minor errors on application forms and clarifying the flexibility on the scale to be used in plans are being addressed in the revision of statutory Guidance to licensing authorities. We expect to publish revised Guidance in the early summer.
	We have also been engaging in pre-consultation with key stakeholders prior to bringing forward proposals later this year for public consultations on minor variations of licences and the removal of the designated premises supervisor requirement for village halls.

Olympic Games

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's latest estimate is of expenditure on the Olympic Games in each year from 2006-07 to 2012-13; and how much money has been spent in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Tessa Jowell: Expenditure by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) in 2006-07 is forecast to be £237 million. The ODA's budget for 2007-08 is £538 million.
	Spending by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in 2006-07 is forecast to be £25 million and the budget for 2007-08 is £57 million. This will be funded from commercial finance. LOCOG's operational lifetime budget is estimated to be circa £2 billion which is financed from private sources.
	During the bid period 2003-05 the bid company London 2012 Ltd. spent £28 million. In addition to this the London Development Agency and DCMS contributed, in total, a further £10 million supporting the bid and developing the master plan for the Lower Lea Valley. This cost was outside the Public Sector Funding Package and was partly met by private funding.
	In 2005-06 the Interim ODA spent £41 million and the LOCOG spent around £9 million.
	On 15 March 2007 I announced an overall budget for the ODA of up to £5.3 billion for expenditure, excluding tax. Work is in progress, in conjunction with the ODA, to establish the budget profiles for 2008-09 and beyond.

DEFENCE

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total number of soldiers who have served in Iraq since the commencement of the war in Iraq have been from the ranks of the Territorial Army.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, it is possible to estimate that the proportion has fluctuated between approximately 6 per cent. currently to a high of 18 per cent. in 2003. These figures count full-time reserve service personnel within Territorial Army numbers.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departments: Energy

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what instructions are issued to staff in her Department on shutting down computers at night; and what other procedures are in place to ensure computers are shut down.

Edward Miliband: All staff, contractors and security guards are instructed to switch off PCs and monitors when not in use. This is part of a wider and continuing sustainable development programme, which also includes night time energy audits of buildings.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by her Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Hilary Armstrong: All paper used for photocopying is 100 per cent. recycled with a post-consumer waste content of 100 per cent. The vast majority of paper supplied for printed publications is 100 per cent. recycled with a post-consumer waste content of 75 per cent.

Orders and Regulations

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many regulations were repealed in each year since 1997.

Hilary Armstrong: Regulations have been repealed in a variety of ways including through primary legislation and orders under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and its predecessor the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994.
	Information on the total number of regulations repealed since 1997 in not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	35 Regulatory Reform Orders were passed under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 simplifying a range of legislation. For example the Regulatory Safety (Fire Safety) Order 2005 replaced over 50 pieces of legislation with one new set of rules. The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 repealed the Regulatory Reform Act. Several Legislative Reform Orders are currently at an early stage of development and will also include the repeal of regulations.

Sports: Young People

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1753W, on the Youth Sport Trust, what part the Chairman of v played in the Chancellor's announcement on 7 February of the Youth Trust Programme.

Edward Miliband: The chair of v, Ron Aldridge, played no role in the Chancellor's announcement.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

City Academies: Pupil Exclusions

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent exclusions there were from academies in the last two years for which data is available; and for what reasons pupils were excluded.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Academies: Number and percentage of permanent exclusions( 1 ) 2003/04 and 2004/05—England 
			   2003/04  2004/05 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 90 100 
			 Percentage of school population(2) 0.83 0.67 
			 (1) The number of exclusions from academies are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed. (2) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the school population.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census. 
		
	
	Data on fixed period exclusions and the reason for exclusion relating to the 2003/04 and 2004/05 school years have been derived from Termly Exclusions Survey returns. The scope of this survey did not extend to academies.
	The Termly Exclusions Survey has now discontinued and the School Census has started to collect information on fixed period exclusions and reasons for exclusion in addition to the information on permanent exclusions it previously collected. First findings relating to the 2005/06 school year are expected to be available in June 2007.

Extracurricular Activities: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places were available in out-of-school clubs for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school age children in each London local authority in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested about child care places broken down by primary and secondary school age children is not collected. The available information on the number of registered child care places for children under eight is shown in the table.
	The latest figures on registered child care provider and places are available on the following website:
	www.ofsted.gov.uk/
	
		
			  Number( 1)  of registered child care places for children under eight years of age in out of school day care—position at 31 March each year 
			  London boroughs  1997( 2)  2006( 3) 
			  Inner London   
			 City of London 70 200 
			 Camden n/a 1,700 
			 Hackney 1,110 2,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham n/a 1,000 
			 Haringey 200 1,700 
			 Islington 1,100 1,300 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 700 1,500 
			 Lambeth n/a 1,900 
			 Lewisham 1,000 2,200 
			 Newham 200 1,900 
			 Southwark 2,100 4,200 
			 Tower Hamlets n/a 1,400 
			 Wandsworth 1,000 3,600 
			 Westminster 700 1,100 
			  Outer London   
			 Barking and Dagenham 200 700 
			 Barnet 300 3,100 
			 Bexley 200 800 
			 Brent 300 1,300 
			 Bromley 300 2,400 
			 Croydon 700 3,700 
			 Ealing 500 2,100 
			 Enfield 300 1,800 
			 Greenwich 200 2,300 
			 Harrow 200 1,400 
			 Havering 300 1,100 
			 Hillingdon 100 1,100 
			 Hounslow 600 1,400 
			 Kingston upon Thames 300 1,300 
			 Merton 300 2,200 
			 Redbridge 200 1,300 
			 Richmond upon Thames 400 1,800 
			 Sutton 100 1,200 
			 Waltham Forest n/a 2,000 
			 n/a = not available. (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 places. (2) Data source: Children's Day Care Facilities Survey. (3) Data source: Ofsted.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Standards

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many students achieved five GCSEs at grade C or above including English, mathematics and science in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many students achieved five GCSEs at grade C or above including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the requested information for 15-year-old(1) pupils since 1997.
	
		
			   5+A*-C at GCSE( 2)  including English, mathematics and science GCSEs  5+A*-C at GCSE( 2 ) including English, mathematics, science and a MFL GCSEs 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1996 195,181 35.0 151,544 27.2 
			 1997 194,708 35.3 150,755 27.3 
			 1998 197,179 36.1 158,048 28.9 
			 1999 207,272 33.9 169,180 27.7 
			 2000 214,181 35.3 172,772 28.5 
			 2001 226,879 36.5 183,298 29.5 
			 2002 234,205 37.6 183,583 29.4 
			 2003 239,641 38.9 177,553 28.8 
			 2004 251,139 38.7 182,862 28.2 
			 2005 257,440 40.4 178,809 28.1 
			 2006 263,525 40.6 167,114 25.8 
			 (1) Aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August. (2) Figures for 2004 onwards include GCSEs and equivalents.

Grandparents

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to answer question 133014, on grandparents, tabled by the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 17 April.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given on 24 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1021W.

Local Education Authorities: Private Finance Initiative

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local education authorities have undertaken a review of their school private finance initiative contracts in the last three years; and how many reviews resulted in those contracts being terminated.

Jim Knight: Private finance initiative (PFI) contracts are made between local authorities and the private sector partner, following a due procurement procedure which includes consideration of design and value for money. The Department is not a partner to the contracts and is not included in reviews. We are aware of only one schools PFI contract which has been terminated, which was a single school contract for the Frances Bardsley School for Girls in Romford.

Primary Education: Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money he expects to make available to East Sussex county council between now and 2010 to spend on capital projects relating to rural primary schools; and how much of that funding will be allocated specifically for the renovation of existing buildings.

Jim Knight: Planned school capital allocations to East Sussex county council in 2007-08 and to schools in its area amount to £17,526,000. Allocations to local authorities for the financial years 2008-10 will be notified later this year. In addition, for 2007-08, East Sussex has taken advantage of repayable advances of £2,755,000 for maintained schools and £380,000 for voluntary-aided schools.
	A long-term primary school programme, worth £500 million in 2009-10, will be rolled out with the aim of improving the condition of primary schools throughout the country. Details of this are being worked on at the present time.
	The Department relies on local authorities to prioritise funding between schools and does not allocate funding specifically for rural schools or for renovation.

Pupil Exclusions

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of pupils in  (a) Hartlepool,  (b) Tees Valley sub-region,  (c) the North East region and  (d) England and Wales were permanently excluded from (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the tables.
	For information on Wales, I refer the hon. Member to the Welsh Assembly.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools( 1) : number and percentage of permanent exclusions by local education authority area,  1997/98 to 2004 /0 5 
			1997/98  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01( 2) 
			Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			  England(4) 1,540 0.03 1,370 0.03 1,230 0.03 1,440 0.03 
			   
			  North East(4) 60 0.02 70 0.03 50 0.02 70 0.03 
			   
			  Tees Valley(4) 20 0.02 10 0.02 10 0.01 10 0.02 
			   
			 841 Darlington 3 0.03 0 0.00 * * 5 0.05 
			 805 Hartlepool 3 0.03 * * 0 0.00 3 0.03 
			 806 Middlesbrough 4 0.02 * * 0 0.00 * * 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland * * 3 0.02 * * 3 0.02 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 4 0.02 6 0.03 3 0.02 0 0.00 
		
	
	
		
			2001/02( 2)  2002/03( 2)  2003/04( 2)  2004/05( 2) 
			Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			  England(4) 1,450 0.03 1,300 0.03 1,270 0.03 1,090 0.03 
			   
			  North East(4) 60 0.03 70 0.03 60 0.03 50 0.02 
			   
			  Tees Valley(4) 10 0.02 20 0.02 20 0.03 10 0.02 
			   
			 841 Darlington * * 0 0.00 3 0.03 * * 
			 805 Hartlepool * * 7 0.07 7 0.07 * * 
			 806 Middlesbrough 8 0.05 4 0.03 8 0.06 7 0.05 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland * * 4 0.03 3 0.02 * * 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 0 0.00 0 0.00 * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : number and percentage of permanent exclusions by local education authority area,  1997/98 to 2004 /0 5 
			1997/98  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01( 2) 
			Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			  England(4) 10,190 0.33 8,640 0.28 6,710 0.21 7,310 0.23 
			   
			  North East(4) 590 0.33 470 0.26 410 0.23 390 0.22 
			   
			  Tees Valley(4) 150 0.34 90 0.21 100 0.22 80 0.18 
			   
			 841 Darlington 26 0.45 26 0.45 25 0.42 18 0.30 
			 805 Hartlepool 31 0.49 15 0.23 15 0.23 19 0.28 
			 806 Middlesbrough 19 0.22 13 0.15 * * 4 0.05 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 33 0.32 23 0.22 36 0.35 26 0.25 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 37 0.30 15 0.12 22 0.17 15 0.12 
		
	
	
		
			2001/02( 2)  2002/03( 2)  2003/04( 2)  2004/05( 2) 
			Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			  England(4) 7,740 0.24 7,690 0.23 390 0.25 8,070 0.24 
			   
			  North East(4) 410 0.23 420 0.23 390 0.22 410 0.23 
			   
			  Tees Valley(4) 90 0.21 100 0.22 110 0.26 100 0.25 
			   
			 841 Darlington 6 0.10 9 0.14 19 0.30 32 0.51 
			 805 Hartlepool 30 0.45 33 0.49 36 0.54 19 0.29 
			 806 Middlesbrough 3 0.04 5 0.07 10 0.17 10 0.18 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 31 0.30 27 0.26 30 0.29 23 0.23 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 23 0.18 22 0.17 15 0.12 20 0.16 
			 * = 1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Figures are as confirmed by local authorities via the data checking exercise. (3) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils, excluding dually registered pupils. (4) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census.

Pupil Exclusions: Drugs

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary pupils were excluded from school because of drugs misuse in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the table.
	Only two years of data relating to the reason for exclusion are currently available. The first year for which information on the reason for exclusion is available relates to the 2003/04 academic year. Exclusions data for 2004/05 academic year were published in June 2006. Information on exclusions during the 2005/06 academic year is expected to be available in June 2007.
	There are 12 categories describing the various reasons for exclusion, one of which relates to involvement with drugs and alcohol.
	DfES guidance states that a head teacher can exclude a pupil permanently for supplying an illegal drug and that the Secretary of State would not normally expect the governing body or an appeal panel to reinstate such a pupil. Illegal drugs have no place in schools and harm children's learning, health and behaviour. We have made clear that we support head teachers and governing bodies together with local partners including the police in their efforts to tackle illegal drugs in schools.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : Number and percentage of drug and alcohol related exclusions 2003/04 and 2004/05—England 
			   Maintained secondary schools 
			   2003/04  2004/05 
			   Number of permanent exclusions( 2)  Percentage of all permanent exclusions( 2,)( )( 3)  Number of fixed period exclusions  Percentage of all fixed period exclusions( 3)  Number of permanent exclusions( 2)  Percentage of all permanent exclusions( 2,)( )( 3)  Number of fixed period exclusions  Percentage of all fixed period exclusions( 3) 
			 Drug and alcohol related 600 7 11,720 4 470 6 10,610 3 
			 * = Less than 5 exclusions or a rate based on less than 5 exclusions.  (1) Includes middle schools. (2) The distribution of exclusions by reason has been derived from the Termly Exclusions Survey and applied to the number of permanent exclusions as confirmed by local authorities as part of the School Census data checking exercise. (3) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions.  Note: Numbers of exclusions have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.  Source: Termly Exclusions Survey.

Pupil Exclusions: Offensive Weapons

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded  (a) temporarily and  (b) permanently for bringing an offensive weapon to school in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not available.
	Only two years of data relating to the reason for exclusion are currently available. The first year for which information on the reason for exclusion is available relates to the 2003/04 academic year. Exclusions data for 2004/05 academic year were published in June 2006.
	Tables showing the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by the reason for exclusion in 2003/04 and 2004/05 have been placed in the Library. There is not a specific category relating to offensive weapons.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many assaults on  (a) teacher staff and  (b) non-teaching staff were perpetrated by pupils in the (i) primary sector and (ii) secondary sector in the Peterborough local education authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The number of assaults on staff in schools is not collected centrally.
	From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include 'physical assault against an adult'.
	The following table provides the number of fixed period and permanent exclusions from maintained primary and secondary schools in Peterborough local authority for assault against an adult.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : number and percentage of permanent and fixed period exclusions for physical assault against an adult 2003/04 and 2004/05—Peterborough local authority area 
			   Exclusions for physical assault against an adult 
			   Maintained primary schools  Maintained secondary schools 
			   Permanent exclusions  Fixed period exclusions  Permanent exclusions  Fixed period exclusions 
			   Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2) 
			 2003/04 0 0.0 52 21.3 4 11.1 27 1.8 
			 2004/05 * * 20 19.8 0 0.0 28 2.1 
			 * = 1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) The number of exclusions for physical assault against an adult expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions.  Source: Termly Exclusions Survey

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many assaults on  (a) teaching and  (b) non-teaching staff were perpetrated by pupils in the (i) primary and (ii) secondary sector in Eastbourne in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The number of assaults on staff in schools is not collected centrally.
	From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include 'physical assault against an adult'.
	The table provides the number of fixed period and permanent exclusions from maintained primary and secondary schools in Eastbourne parliamentary constituency for assault against an adult.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : Number and percentage of permanent and fixed period exclusions for physical assault against an adult—2003/04 and 2004/05—Eastbourne parliamentary constituency 
			   Exclusions for physical assault against an adult 
			   Maintained primary schools  Maintained secondary schools 
			   Permanent exclusions( 2)  Fixed period exclusions  Permanent exclusions( 2)  Fixed period exclusions 
			   Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			 2003/04 * * 28 16.3 * * 23 3.7 
			 2004/05 0 0.0 25 8.9 4 36.4 22 1.7 
			 * = 1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) The number of permanent exclusions has been derived from the Termly Exclusions Survey and may differ from published statistics sourced from the School Census. (3) The number of exclusions for physical assault against an adult expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions.  Source: Termly Exclusions Survey

Schools: Standards

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in England were accorded special measures status in each year between 1997 and 2006; and how many pupils attended such schools in each year.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of schools that were placed in special measures in each academic year between 1997 and 2006.
	
		
			   Primary  Secondary  Special  PRU  Total 
			 1997/98 210 43 32 5 290 
			 1998/99 142 29 17 6 194 
			 1999/2000 168 38 16 8 230 
			 2000/01 100 23 9 5 137 
			 2001/02 94 19 10 6 129 
			 2002/03 99 35 18 8 160 
			 2003/04 130 61 13 9 213 
			 2004/05 55 37 9 2 103 
			 2005/06 117 32 2 13 164 
		
	
	An estimate of the number of pupils that were attending each school is shown as follows. The figures have been estimated using the current average number of pupils in each type of school.
	
		
			   Primary  Secondary  Special  PRU  Total 
			 1997/98 49,350 41,925 2,560 175 94,010 
			 1998/99 33,370 28,275 1,360 210 63,215 
			 1999/2000 39,480 37,050 1,280 280 78,090 
			 2000/01 23,500 22,425 720 175 46,820 
			 2001/02 22,090 18,525 800 210 41,625 
			 2002/03 23,265 34,125 1,440 280 59,110 
			 2003/04 30,550 59,475 1,040 315 91,380 
			 2004/05 12,925 36,075 720 70 49,790 
			 2005/06 27,495 31,200 160 455 59,310

Schools: Wycombe

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Wycombe constituency have received Excellence in Cities money since 2001; and how much funding each school received.

Jim Knight: holding answer 13 March 2007
	The High Wycombe Excellence Cluster initially consisted of 14 schools and has received over £3.3 million in Excellence in Cities funding since 2002.
	The final decisions on funding allocations to schools were made locally, (by the headteachers and local authority acting in partnership), to ensure that local knowledge informed the targeting of the resources. As the Department does not keep records of individual school allocations, we are unable to say precisely how much funding schools received.

Schools: Yorkshire

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many incidents of  (a) pupil on pupil and  (b) pupil on teacher violence occurred in each of the state secondary schools in Yorkshire in each of the last two years.

Jim Knight: The number of incidents of violence towards staff and pupils in schools is not collected centrally.
	From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include 'physical assault against a pupil' and 'physical assault against an adult'.
	A summary table shows the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions from maintained secondary schools in the Yorkshire and Humber region for physical assault against a pupil or an adult. In addition a school level table has been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools ( 1) :  n umber and percentage of permanent and fixed period exclusions for physical assault against a pupil or an adult  2003/04 and 2004/05—Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region 
			   Maintained secondary schools 
			   Permanent exclusions ( 2)  Fixed period exclusions 
			   Physical assault against a pupil  Physical assault against an adult  Physical assault against a pupil  Physical assault against an adult 
			   Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			 2003/04 130 17.1 110 14.9 7,520 18.5 1,410 3.5 
			 2004/05 140 19.9 110 14.9 8,110 19.7 1,360 3.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Figures are based on Termly Exclusions Survey returns and may differ from published statistics on permanent exclusions which have been sourced from the School Census. (3) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  Termly Exclusions Survey

Teachers: Qualifications

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in Chorley constituency have a teacher with a formal music qualification.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	In 2002 an estimated 6,300 full-time teachers were, teaching music in maintained schools in England. Of these, an estimated 87 per cent. (4 percentage points) held a Post A level qualification in music. The source of this information is the 2002 Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey and is the latest available.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: Population

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the principal population projections of the Government Actuary's Department for 2031, what estimate he has made of the effect of the expected increase in the UK's population on UK carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: UK carbon dioxide emissions projections include the impact of predicted population growth. Updated projections will be available shortly in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.

Biofuels: Subsidies

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the subsidies which are paid to encourage the growing of biofuels.

Ian Pearson: The EU's annual €45/ha Energy Aid payment is available to farmers for purpose-grown biofuel crops grown on non set-aside land. Farmers can also receive the Single Payment for purpose-grown biofuel crops on set-aside or where the EU's €45 per hectare energy aid payment is claimed for crops on non set-aside land.
	Support for energy crops is also provided by Research and Development funding from DEFRA to increase yields and reduce inputs.

Domestic Wastes: Waste Disposal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what consultations he has had with public health experts on the possible health impact associated with the reduction of waste bin collection from domestic residences from once a week to once a fortnight or longer intervals;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the possible health implications of the reduction of the domestic residence waste bin collection system from a weekly to a two or three weekly basis.

Ben Bradshaw: An independent, DEFRA-funded research study, carried out by Enviros Consulting and Cranfield University, identified no evidence of adverse health impacts resulting from alternate weekly collection (AWC) of household waste.
	Waste management, inside and outside the home, carries small health risks. Simple precautions mitigate these risks and there is no evidence that they are increased by AWC of household waste.

Electronic Equipment: Recycling

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimates his Department has made of the likely effect of implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive on recycling levels of the relevant materials.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government expects the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations, which transpose the WEEE Directive, to lead to an increase in the recycling of metals, plastics and other materials found in WEEE. However, DEFRA has not carried out an assessment to quantify the expected increase.
	The Department of Trade and Industry lead on the implementation of the WEEE Directive.

Flood Control: Finance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much he estimates his Department will need to spend on flood defences in  (a) Tamworth constituency,  (b) Staffordshire and  (c) England in each of the next five years.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA has policy responsibility for flood risk management in England only. The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal operating authority and estimates spending of £5.6 million on the Tamworth Flood Alleviation Scheme. The EA's five-year capital works programme also includes the Scotch Brook - Stone scheme at an estimated cost of £1.7 million. A number of other potential schemes have also been identified in Staffordshire but have yet to be evaluated. In addition to its capital programme, the EA has allocated £892,000 in 2007-08 for work on non-routine projects within the county to be funded by levies on local authorities or revenue.
	DEFRA grant to all operating authorities in 2007-08 will be in excess of £500 million including grant for local authority coast protection projects which often provide significant flood risk benefits. Future departmental funding for flood risk management is being considered in the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

Flood Control: Sea Defences

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environment Agency expects to publish guidance to landowners on the maintenance of sea defences.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency plans to publish guidance to landowners on the maintenance of sea defences in June.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how individuals may obtain a home energy check; how much such a check costs; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Energy Saving Trust provides home energy checks to householders. These can be completed on the Trust's website or by calling into one of its local Energy Efficiency Advice Centres, which provide impartial advice on saving energy in the home. Home energy checks are free to householders.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the Warm Front scheme targets hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat households.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA closely monitors Eaga plc's activities regarding the delivery of the Warm Front Scheme including activities for those living in homes which are hard to treat or who are harder to reach. For example, Eaga plc work closely with a range of community and voluntary organisations at a local level to help reach vulnerable households.
	My Department is currently considering what additional measures can be provided for those who live in homes which cannot be assisted with the range of energy efficiency and heating measures currently offered by the scheme.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Minister of State expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 15 March 2007, on the Sahara Desert and energy.

Ian Pearson: The hon. Member's letter has been transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry which has policy responsibility for the energy issue.

Recycling

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities are in compliance with the requirement of the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 to collect at least two types of recycled material.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003, all local authorities in England are required to collect at least two types of recyclable waste from all households in their area by the end of 2010.
	The latest results from the Audit Commission's Best Value Performance Indicator (BV 91b) for 2005-06 show that 125 authorities (35 per cent. of the 354 with a waste collection responsibility) provided a collection service of two or more materials for recycling from all of their households. 75 per cent. of authorities provided this service to at least 90 per cent. of their households.

Water: Storage

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage water companies to provide more storage capacity.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency has a duty to secure the proper use of water resources. Water companies have duties to maintain adequate supplies of water and several companies have provision in their water resource plans to enlarge existing reservoirs or construct new ones. These proposals were set out in the 25 year water resources plans they prepared in 2004. The Environment Agency advised Ministers about the appropriateness of these proposals, and other measures to ensure security of supply, in its report "Maintaining water supply", which was published in July 2004.
	It would be inappropriate for Ministers to encourage water companies to pursue particular options, since specific proposals may come before us for determination or on appeal.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Overseas Territories

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the occasions in the last 30 years on which members of the indigenous population of a UK Overseas Territory have been expelled from their home in respect of which no legal proceedings are active; and what the dates and circumstances were of each such case.

Geoff Hoon: There have been no occasions in the last 30 years on which members of the indigenous population of a UK Overseas Territory have been expelled from their home in respect of which no legal proceedings are active.

Cuba: Human Rights

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government has made to the United Nations Human Rights Council on human rights in Cuba.

Geoff Hoon: At the Human Rights Council's (HRC) second regular session in September 2006, the UK—both nationally and through the EU—actively participated in interactive dialogues with more than 40 UN Special Rapporteurs on the basis of their annual reports. During this process we drew particular attention to the human rights situations in a number of countries, including Cuba.
	It is anticipated that the 2007 annual report issued by the Special Rapporteur on Cuba will be discussed at the June session of the HRC. The EU again plans to participate in this dialogue, with the objective of highlighting the serious concerns it has over the human rights situation in Cuba. In addition, as a member of HRC, Cuba will be among the first countries to undergo Universal Periodic Review, a mechanism for evaluating each country's human rights standards. The UK supports this system.

Global Opportunities Fund

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) funding and  (b) other resources have been (i) committed in each of the last three financial years and (ii) pledged for each of the next three financial years to the Global Opportunities Fund.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested by the hon. Member is provided in the table as follows.
	
		
			   GOF allocation (£ million) 
			  Name of Global Opportunities Fund (GOF)  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Afghan counter narcotics (1) — 16.3 16.3 
			 Climate Change and Energy 4.9 4.7 4.7 
			 Counter Terrorism 7.3 8.8 8.8 
			 Drugs and Crime (1) — 6.0 6.0 
			 Economic Governance 4.5 5.0 5.0 
			 Engaging with the Islamic World 9.6 8.2 8.2 
			 Human Rights (2) — — 3.1 
			 Migration (1,3) — 1.5 1.5 
			 Overseas Territories (1) — 5.0 5.0 
			 Reuniting Europe 5.1 5.5 6.1 
			 Sustainable Development (2) 5.0 4.7 1.6 
			 (1) The Afghan counter narcotics, Drugs and Crime, Migration and Overseas Territories programmes were brought under the GOF umbrella in 2006-07. (2) Human Rights projects were funded under the Sustainable Development programme until 2007-08. (3) 2007-08 allocation may be increased subject to outcome of ongoing discussions. 
		
	
	To support GOF programmes overseas, there is a network of 100 project officers at posts costing £1.3 million.
	GOF programme allocations for the next three financial years will depend on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations with HM Treasury as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Resource Allocation Round that will flow from that. We should know the outcome of the CSR in the autumn.

Latin America: Global Opportunities Fund

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Global Opportunities Fund in Latin America; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: There is no Global Opportunities Fund (GOF) programme specifically dedicated to Latin America; GOF programmes are generally organised by theme rather than geography. The following GOF programmes have projects in Latin America: Climate Change and Energy, Drugs and Crime, Economic Governance, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.
	GOF-funded projects have achieved some notable recent successes in Latin America. Our Embassy in Mexico City, along with the British Council, received an award in October 2006 from then President Fox for their GOF-funded governance work. In Colombia, GOF projects have focussed on strengthening the prosecution service and implementation of the Justice and Peace Law. One project, part-funded by GOF and aimed at improving the case handling of and protection for child victims of sexual exploitation, received a UN21 Commendation for outstanding field projects. Out of 4,500 project nominations, only 20 received an award.

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the status of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear disarmament.

Kim Howells: We assess that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has not fulfilled its commitments in Phase one of the Six Party Talks, Initial Actions for the Implementation of the September 2005 Joint Statement. The Joint Statement obliged the DPRK to abandon all its nuclear weapons and nuclear programmes. Phase one set a deadline of 60 days, from the 13 February, for North Korea to shut down and seal the Yongbyon nuclear facility and to re-admit International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. It also called for North Korea to discuss with other parties to the talks, a list of all its nuclear programmes including plutonium already extracted from Yongbyon. We note with concern that the DPRK has not carried out these undertakings within the agreed timeframe. However, we welcomed the visit by the IAEA Director, Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, on 13-14 March to discuss preparations for the re-admittance of IAEA inspectors.

HEALTH

Ambulance Services: North East Region

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time was for ambulances to reach patients in  (a) North Yorkshire,  (b) County Durham and  (c) Cumbria in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect information of the average response times by ambulance trust. It does, however, collect data from national health service ambulance trusts which allow response time standards to be monitored. The response times for the ambulance services for the Cumbria, North Yorkshire and County Durham areas are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Category A calls, response within 8 minutes and 19 minutes, by ambulance trusts 2005-06 
			  Percentage 
			   Within 8 minutes  Within 19 minutes 
			 Cumbria Ambulance Service Trust 74.4 93.3 
			 North East Ambulance Service Trust 75.3 99.0 
			 Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Trust 75.0 97.5 
			  Note: In 2005-06 there were some inconsistencies in the measurement of the category A response times (eight minutes) for six ambulance trusts, this included Cumbria Ambulance Service.   Source: The Information Centre, form KA34.

Breast Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her Department has had with the Screening Advisory Committee on the effectiveness of extending the NHS Breast Screening Programme's upper age limit beyond 70 years.

Rosie Winterton: The evidence for inviting women aged over 70 on a population basis is not clear. That is why research has been commissioned on behalf of the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening (ACBCS) to bring more clarity to this area. A modelling exercise has been carried out to look at the potential benefits, and a draft final report has been produced and peer reviewed. The research team have now amended the report based on the peer review comments, and this report will now be discussed by the ACBCS at their next meeting in the summer. The ACBCS will advise on a way forward.

Breast Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women diagnosed with breast cancer received an HER2 test in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what steps her Department is taking to monitor the implementation of the Government commitment that all women diagnosed with breast cancer should receive a HER2 test.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect figures on the number of breast cancer patients who are tested for HER2.
	As set out in the written ministerial statement of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 5WS, 28 out of the then 34 cancer networks reported that they were HER-2 testing all women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. The remaining six reported that they would be testing all these women by the end of October 2006. These networks have since reported that they are now HER-2 testing all women with early breast cancer.
	No further progress reports have been requested.

Care Homes: Northamptonshire

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes in Northamptonshire received Dignity in Care grants in 2006.

Ivan Lewis: No Dignity in Care grants to care homes were awarded in 2006.
	These grants, announced in November 2006, are to be made available during 2007-08. The grants will support minor improvements to the environment to enhance the dignity and quality of life of older residents. Effective use of the grants will help older people living in care homes to do so with dignity, and enable care home providers to be more responsive to the needs of their older residents.
	The grants are being paid to local authorities under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. Grant allocations will be made to local authorities in May 2007, subject to agreement by the Department of spending proposals submitted by each authority. The local authority will arrange the distribution of the capital to individual care home providers in accordance with their submission.
	We are currently considering the spending plan submitted by Northamptonshire county council, which proposes distributing their grant allocation of £805,000 among 86 care homes.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 330W, on colorectal cancer: screening, how many testing kits were sent out each month from April 2006 to February 2007 in each of the 49 primary care trusts covered by the programme.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 26 April 2007
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of testing kits issued 
			   2006  2007  
			  Primary care trust  July  Aug.  Sept .  Oct .  Nov .  Dec .  Jan .  Feb .  Mar .  Total 
			 Walsall Teaching 0 0 0 847 1,386 1,010 1,614 959 1,168 6,984 
			 Wolverhampton City 1,033 1,419 1,359 1,145 723 775 1,324 763 837 9,378 
			 Dudley 0 0 0 468 699 474 793 1,989 1,198 5,621 
			 South Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 259 225 342 204 275 1,305 
			 Norfolk 0 2,689 2,886 4,074 2,793 1,982 3,246 3,400 3,102 24,172 
			 Sefton 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,655 1,539 1,322 4,516 
			 Liverpool 0 0 0 2,088 4,251 2,999 2,781 2,050 1,773 15,942 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 502 1,124 1,626 
			 Salford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 356 356 
			 Bolton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 383 913 1,296 
			 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 794 3,217 2,844 6,855 
			 Devon 0 0 48 1,416 1,393 1,033 741 640 441 5,712 
			 Torbay Care Trust 0 0 48 1,548 1,496 1,156 776 626 542 6,192 
			 Hillingdon 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,241 992 1,052 3,285 
			 Brent Teaching 0 0 0 964 1,105 1,123 1,524 1,138 1,058 6,912 
			 Harrow 0 0 0 0 1,008 850 1,232 950 1,000 5,040 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 514 514 
			 Newham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 294 294 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 0 0 748 783 1,133 869 859 4,392 
			 Richmond and Twickenham 0 0 0 0 0 0 680 790 723 2,193 
			 Sutton and Merton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,368 1,409 2,777 
			 Hartlepool 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 179 706 885 
			 North Tees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 299 1,401 1,700 
			 Middlesbrough 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 249 989 1,238 
			 North Yorkshire and York 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 1,353 1,670 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 248 1,163 1,411 
			 County Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 232 1,063 1,295 
			 Gateshead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 365 1,602 1,967 
			 South Tyneside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 266 1,136 1,402 
			 Sunderland Teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 513 2,075 2,588 
			 Hull 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,727 1,727 
			 Derbyshire County 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 745 745 
			  Notes: This information is based on the new configuration of PCTs.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 330W, on colorectal cancer: screening, whether responsibility for the screening programme in 2007-08 resides with strategic health authorities or primary care trusts; and what measures are in place to ensure that the funding provided by her Department is used for the purpose of colorectal cancer screening.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 26 April 2007
	Funding for the national health service bowel cancer screening programme from the strategic health authority (SHA) bundle was allocated to Yorkshire and the Humber SHA to manage on behalf of all 10 SHAs in England. NHS Cancer Screening Programmes currently manage the budget on behalf of Yorkshire and the Humber SHA through a service level agreement.
	NHS Cancer Screening Programmes make payments directly to NHS trusts who host the bowel cancer screening hubs and local screening centres. The payments are made on a population served basis.
	It is for SHAs working in partnership with their primary care trusts (PCTs) and local stakeholders to organise and provide services for their local populations. SHAs were asked to bid for their local endoscopy services to become local screening centres as part of the second wave of the bowel cancer screening programme for 2007-08. These bids have been assessed, and second wave sites are currently being finalised. We are anticipating a considerable expansion of the programme in 2007-08.
	The expectation is that funding for the programme will be in PCT baseline allocations once the programme is fully rolled out across England by December 2009.

Dental Services: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to increase the numbers of  (a) NHS dentists and  (b) places available to register with an NHS dentist in Leeds.

Rosie Winterton: Under the dental reforms introduced in April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) are commissioning an increasing volume of national health service dental services, which is likely to result in further workforce increases. In 2005, the Government expanded the number of dental school places by 25 per cent. in order to support longer term increases in the dental workforce. The number of training places at the University of Leeds Dental School has been increased from 53 to 75, with an additional six places allocated to an outreach training scheme in Hull. The first cohort of new dental graduates will qualify in 2010.
	Leeds PCT is working to improve access to NHS dentistry. It has recruited three additional dentists in North West Leeds and has established the Leeds Dental Advice Line to help patients access dental services, including emergency services.

Maternity Services: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when she expects a children's and maternity hospital to be built in Leeds;
	(2)  if she will take steps to provide additional  (a) services for children and  (b) maternity services in Leeds during the period of postponement of the building of a dedicated children's and maternity hospital.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 April 2006,  Official Report, columns 1269-70W.

NHS: Public Participation

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish  (a) evidence from and  (b) an evaluation of her Department's local involvement network early adopter sites.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 26 April 2007
	The Healthcare Commission, Commission for Social Care Inspection, NHS Centre for Involvement (NCI), the Centre for Public Scrutiny, Care Services Improvement Partnership, the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) and the Department are jointly overseeing the early adopter projects which are testing out how local involvement networks might work in practice. The learning from the sites is already being made available through a range of communication mechanisms including the CPPIH knowledge management system, the NCI's website and the Department's LINk bulletin. This process of sharing lessons learnt will continue throughout the duration of the projects. The time frame for the report of the formal evaluation is still to be settled by the partner organisations.

South London and Maudsley NHS Trust

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports requested by the courts could not be supplied by South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust in 2006.

Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the chair of South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust. We have written to Madeline Long informing her of your inquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Alcoholic Drinks

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many litres of alcoholic drinks were purchased for sale  (a) in bars and restaurants of the House and  (b) by the House Refreshment Department for catering functions on the Parliamentary estate in each year since 2005.

Nick Harvey: The Refreshment Department does not purchase drinks for specific trading areas, but issues goods as required from its central store. The estimated quantity of alcoholic drinks consumed in the 11 months to February 2007 is estimated to be  (a) 53,495 litres in the bars and restaurants and  (b) 30,517 litres at functions supplied by the House of Commons Refreshment Department. The following table details by outlet, however this does not include alcohol transferred to our souvenir outlets.
	
		
			  April 2006 to February 2007 (11 months) 
			   Quantity (litres)  Estimated cost of consumption (£) 
			  Bars and restaurants   
			 (a) Beers and ciders 34.377 52,620 
			 (b) Aperitifs, fortified wines and spirits 743 9,729 
			 (c) Wines 18,377 130,922 
			 Total 53,497 193,270 
			
			  Catering functions   
			 (d) Beers and ciders 1,371 2,539 
			 (e) Aperitifs, fortified wines and spirits 700 7,703 
			 (f) Wines 28,446 176,380 
			 Total 30,517 186,622 
		
	
	Detailed consumption information is not currently available for the year 2005-06 due to technical issues that are being investigated by the software supplier. The Director of Catering Services will write to the hon. Member with the requested information when it becomes available.
	The software used by the Refreshment Department does not retain historical information of stock consumption for earlier years.

House of Commons: Drinking Water

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the cost was of bottled water provided to the House in each of the last five financial years; and what the estimated cost is for the 2007-08 financial year.

Nick Harvey: The cost of bottled water purchased by the House of Commons in each of the last five financial years is estimated as follows. However, the hon. Member should note that the Refreshment Department sells water to its customers at a profit, and so the cost of water purchased for sale in the Refreshment Department outlets (item (a) in the table as follows) is not a cost to the House.
	
		
			   £ 
			 Cost of bottled water purchases 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 
			 (a) Refreshment Department (1)58,832 (1)55,895 47,820 53,188 49,271 
			 (b) Committee Rooms n/a n/a 8,357 6,656 8,340 
			 (c) Office supplies (estimated) n/a 5,165 7,449 6,095 6,988 
			 Estimated Total Cost of Purchases 58,832 61,060 63,626 65,939 64,599 
			 (1) Including committee rooms 
		
	
	No information is available for the current financial year to March 2008.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's current projects in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: Afghanistan is DFID's sixth largest programme and we are Afghanistan's second largest bilateral donor. We are focusing on three things: building effective state institutions; improving economic management and aid effectiveness; and improving the livelihoods of rural people. We plan to spend £107 million in 2007-08.
	To help build effective state institutions, DFID provided £1.6 million to the World Bank to help the government restructure key ministries in Kabul and the provinces. Pay reforms are helping to attract and retain qualified civil servants, doctors and teachers, and we have just finished supporting the government to come up with a comprehensive capacity building plan.
	DFID's economic programme is working to strengthen the government's capacity to manage and grow the legal economy. We are providing £165 million from 2006-09 through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to fund recurrent costs such as doctors' and teachers' salaries. We are also raising the quality of public spending and level of domestic revenues through technical assistance worth £15 million in the Ministry of Finance, and increasing opportunities for enterprise in Afghanistan with a £9 million portfolio on private sector development.
	DFID's Livelihoods programme is playing a major role in supporting the government of Afghanistan to create an environment that will foster opportunities for legal livelihoods, including support to the National Solidarity Programme (£28 million over six years to fund community-based projects); the Microfinance Investment and Support Facility Afghanistan (£15 million over three years); and the Horticulture and Livelihoods Programme (£7 million over three years). We are also supporting the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and the Ministry of Agriculture in policy formulation and programming (£4.5 million); funding research into alternative crops (e.g. mint and saffron) and other livelihoods (£3 million); and assisting the government in preparing national land policy and reform (£335,000).
	DFID has also committed up to £20 million of our 2007-08 budget to support the UK effort in Helmand. Last year we contributed £4 million (part of an overall commitment by Her Majesty's Government of £6.2 million) to support quick impact projects such as school construction and repairs. Our commitment also includes £30 million over three years (2006-09) for the government of Afghanistan's Helmand Agricultural and Rural Development Programme, which will benefit around 590,000 people and create 15,000 new jobs through speeding up the draw down of national programmes to Helmand.

Civil Society Challenge Fund

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) funding and  (b) other resources have been (i) committed in each of the last three financial years and (ii) pledged for each of the next three financial years to the Civil Society Challenge Fund.

Gareth Thomas: Over the last three financial years, programme funds provided through the Civil Society Challenge Fund (CSCF) have amounted to:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 10.338 
			 2005-06 13.885 
			 2006-07 (1)13.6 
			 (1) Estimated—final expenditure is not yet available. 
		
	
	We currently plan to maintain CSCF funding at £14 million a year.
	In terms of other resources, a team of 7.5 full-time equivalent officials is responsible for management of the CSCF, including contributions to technical assessments, contract management and day-to-day programme administration for the large number of projects under way at any time (there will be 153 projects under CSCF support during 2007-08). Additional technical support on the assessment of project proposals and on monitoring is provided by external consultants. The amount paid under this consultancy have been:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 109,549 
			 2005-06 329,466 
			 2006-07 (1)227,578 
			 (1) Estimated—final expenditure is not yet available. 
		
	
	The apparent increase in expenditure between 2004-05 and 2005-06 reflects timing of payments made around the end of financial year 2004-05. Overall consultancy inputs and expenditure have not changed significantly over the three-year period.

Developing Countries: AIDS

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will propose discussion of a comprehensive funding plan for universal access to treatment for AIDS sufferers by 2010 at the G8 Heads of State meeting in June.

Gareth Thomas: The UK made AIDS a centrepiece of the 2005 G8 and EU presidencies. We pressed for and secured international commitments to universal access to HIV treatment. We subsequently worked hard to ensure that this commitment was endorsed and expanded by the international community in the Political Declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS (2 June 2006). This declaration committed to achieve comprehensive HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010. It also agreed that countries would develop ambitious targets, including interim targets for 2008, to measure progress towards universal access. Crucially, it also set out a process by which countries will develop national AIDS plans to scale up towards universal access by 2010; and made the commitment that no credible, costed, national AIDS plan should go unfunded.
	By early 2007, 90 countries had developed targets for achieving universal access, and at least 23 countries had proceeded with costing their strategic plans. The UK is pressing UNAIDS to define what constitutes a credible national AIDS plan. We are also pressing for a multi-stakeholder process in country to review universal access plans as they are developed, to agree their credibility and ensure they are fully funded.
	We will push hard to ensure an ongoing focus by the G8 on achieving its commitment to universal access. We see our work with UNAIDS as central to unlocking the G8 and international community's commitment to funding credible, costed national AIDS plans. And we will ensure that this work is discussed as we prepare for the G8 Heiligendamm summit in June.

Latin America: Civil Society Challenge Fund

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Civil Society Challenge Fund in Latin America; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: No aggregate assessment has been made of the effectiveness of Civil Society Challenge Fund (CSCF) projects in Latin America. However, for each project funded under the CSCF, including those in Latin America, implementing agencies are required to submit annual progress reports, as well as a project completion report and independent evaluation at project end.

Philippines: Food Aid

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is making available to the World Food Programme initiative to provide emergency relief in Jolo, Southern Philippines.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is monitoring the situation in Jolo. As the Government of the Philippines are coping, we are not planning to respond. However, we will consider any requests for international assistance from the Government of the Philippines, and stand ready to respond should the humanitarian situation deteriorate.

World Bank

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his international counterparts concerning the World Bank president; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: At the Spring Meetings of the World Bank I discussed the issue with my fellow Governors of the Bank and we agreed the following section of the Development Committee Communiqué, dealing with the allegations against President Wolfowitz:
	"We have to ensure that the Bank can effectively carry out its mandate and maintain its credibility and reputation, as well as the motivation of its staff. The current situation is of great concern to all of us. We endorse the Board's actions in looking into this matter, and we asked it to complete its work. We expect the Bank to adhere to a high standard of internal governance."
	I have had follow-up discussions with some Governors since the Spring Meetings.
	We expect the World Bank executive directors to meet again this week to discuss the next steps.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Fly Tipping

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been undertaken by the two cross-border working groups set up by him and the Government of the Republic of Ireland dealing with unauthorised waste activities and the transfrontier shipment of wastes; how many meetings each has held; what conclusions each has reached; what outcomes have resulted; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Unauthorised Waste Activities (UWA) group was established to co-ordinate regional enforcement action against unauthorised waste activities. In addition to its co-ordinated enforcement actions, the group has also held seminars in conjunction with the Garda Siochana. The group first met in September 2004 and met six times in the first year The group was then reformed into a smaller regional co-ordinator working group which has gone on to meet seven times.
	The focus of the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste (TfS) Group has been on better and consistent enforcement by local authorities of the legislation covering cross-border movements of waste. This has involved action to check legitimate waste movements to Northern Ireland, development of guidance and training and liaison with European regulators. The TfS group first met in September 2004 and has met 13 times to date.
	The work is ongoing but has been acknowledged as bringing about better enforcement of environmental legislation on the island of Ireland. The research undertaken has enabled the scale of illegal waste activity on the island to be quantified and future plans to tackle it determined.
	Participation in the groups has led to improved communication and liaison between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland enforcement authorities involved in illegal waste enforcement cases. Increased co-ordination of enforcement activity on both sides of the border has led to a major reduction in the trafficking of illegal waste from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland. At the same time, there has been a reduction in the movement of illegal waste to Europe and beyond.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many households in each  (a) council district and  (b) parliamentary constituency had septic tank emptying agreements with Northern Ireland Water before 31 March 2007.

David Cairns: The Water and Sewerage Services (NI) Order 2006 transferred responsibility for the delivery of water and sewerage services from the Department's Water Service Agency to a statutory water and sewerage undertaker. A government-owned company, Northern Ireland Water (NIW) has been appointed as the undertaker and the issues raised are operational matters for it. I have asked the chief executive of NIW (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to these questions.

SCOTLAND

Second Homes: Voting Rights

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what the residential requirements are for second home owners to have their names entered on the electoral roll in Scotland;
	(2)  what basis decisions are made to permit the names of second home owners in Scotland to be entered on the electoral roll and vote in Scottish parliamentary and local government elections.

David Cairns: A person's name may appear on the electoral register only if they reside at an address within the electoral area. Residence is not defined in law, but it is held to entail a considerable degree of permanence. It is for the Electoral Registration Officer to decide, in light of the relevant circumstances, whether a person may be said to be resident at a particular address. This includes second home owners, in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK.
	It is possible for a person to appear on more than one electoral register. It is for the Electoral Registration Officer to decide on the basis of the information provided to them. Due regard must be given to the purpose and other circumstances of the person's presence at or absence from an address. For example, where a person is staying at a non-permanent location for a particular time, they may be considered to be either (i) resident at that address because they have no home elsewhere or (ii) not resident there if they do have a home elsewhere. Absence due to the performance of any duty associated with office, service or employment, or absence due to attendance at an educational course, does not constitute an interruption to a person's residence. For example, a student who has a permanent home address and a term-time address, and spends about the same amount of time in each, can be registered lawfully at both addresses.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Sentencing: Crimes of Violence

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Solicitor-General whether he plans to review decisions by local Crown Prosecution Service offices not to appeal sentences for being too lenient in the case of offences involving violence; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a power to appeal sentences on the ground of leniency. The Law Officers do however have a power, under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, to refer sentences passed in certain Crown court cases to the Court of Appeal for review, if of the opinion that a sentence passed in such a case was unduly lenient. Any reference to the Court of Appeal must be made within 28 days of the sentence being passed.
	The Law Officers regularly receive requests from the CPS to consider referring sentences of concern to the Court of Appeal, including in cases of violence. There are no plans to review local CPS decisions not to do so. The Law Officers also receive requests to review sentences from victims (or families of victims), Members of Parliament and members of the public.
	I am aware that the hon. Member has expressed concern about sentences passed in a case at Peterborough Crown court last month. The sentences are being considered by the Law Officers and the hon. Member will be written to directly in due course.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Balance of Trade

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the trade balance was with the EU in each year since 1977.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 20 April 2007
	Estimates of the UK balance of trade in goods and services with the EU25 are only available from 1999. The latest estimates including initial figures for 2006 are shown (at current prices) in the following table:
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 1999 -10.4 
			 2000 -7.2 
			 2001 -14.1 
			 2002 -24.3 
			 2003 -28.3 
			 2004 -30.5 
			 2005 -37.4 
			 2006 -37.2 
		
	
	Estimates of the balance of trade in goods and services with the EU15 from 1977 to 2004 are shown (at current prices) in the following table:
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 1977 -2.1 
			 1978 -2.8 
			 1979 -3.2 
			 1980 0.4 
			 1981 -0.8 
			 1982 -2.7 
			 1983 -4.0 
			 1984 -4.8 
			 1985 -3.4 
			 1986 -11.3 
			 1987 -12.8 
			 1988 -17.5 
			 1989 -19.3 
			 1990 -13.7 
			 1991 -4.3 
			 1992 -5.3 
			 1993 -5.4 
			 1994 -6.5 
			 1995 -4.4 
			 1996 -5.3 
			 1997 -4.5 
			 1998 -6.0 
			 1999 -10.1 
			 2000 -6.5 
			 2001 -12.8 
			 2002 -22.7 
			 2003 -26.1 
			 2004 -27.6 
			  Note: Data for 1991 and earlier years are not fully consistent with those for later years as they do not incorporate revisions or methodology changes made after 1997, in particular to statistics on trade in services.  Source: ONS Balance of Payments statistics

Clothing: Fire Prevention

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the regulations are regarding flammability and safety of children's nightwear.

Ian McCartney: The fire safety of children's nightwear in the UK is governed by The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985. These Regulations place a requirement on suppliers of nightwear—manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers—to ensure that children's nightwear, such as nightdresses, dressing gowns, bath robes and similar garments, meet the specified safety flammability requirements.

Control of Misleading Advertisements  Regulations 1988

Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions there have been with industry representatives on updating the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The provisions of the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988 (CMARs) dealing with misleading advertisements directed at consumers will be replaced from 6 April 2008 by regulations implementing the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). The UCPD introduces a general prohibition on unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices. For the sake of clarity the UCPD sets out how practices may be unfair by misleading consumers through action or omission.
	As a consequence, the scope of the original Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive (MCAD), which the CMARs implement, has been narrowed to cover only business-to-business relationships.
	The Government have held extensive consultation with interested parties on how the UCPD should be implemented. They will also be consulting on draft regulations implementing the UCPD, and re-implementing the MCAD as amended by the UCPD, at the end of May.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on hospitality by his Department in the financial year 2006-07.

Jim Fitzpatrick: For 2006-07 the total expenditure on hospitality and entertainment of the Department was £1,420,000. All departmental expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Since 2000 all DTI's publications and photocopying use recycled paper. The in-house reprographics section use 100 per cent. recycled paper for photocopying. Printed publications contain a minimum of 75 per cent. post consumer waste.

OM Energy

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the status is of the OM Energy projects; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government support for OM Energy.

Ian McCartney: Phase one of the OM Energy project has progressed well with its objectives being fully met including academic validation of the technology; the establishment of a UK company; the securing of private seed capital investment; the filing of a worldwide patent; and the design of a next generation laboratory prototype. Phase two will begin shortly and discussions are under way with top UK engineering firm to evaluate potential market applications and the design of commercial prototype.
	Government support has been effective because much of this activity was achieved with assistance from UK Trade and Investment's Global Entrepreneur Programme. This has seen the formation of a pioneering UK company, developing an exciting technology in the renewable energy sector.

OM Energy

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent by his Department on assistance to OM Energy Ltd.

Ian McCartney: OM Energy is a client of the UK Trade and Investment's Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) and an inward investment success having migrated from Russia in 2006. The company has received no financial help from the GEP. The type of assistance provided has been within the terms of the programme, namely advice, signposting, guidance and introductions to key relevant networks, including business angels.

Post Offices

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the decision to relocate 70 post office branches to WH Smith stores.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have received two representations from MP's relating to the decision to relocate 70 post office branches to WH Smith stores. The Government are regularly kept informed of progress with Post Office's business strategy.
	Post Office Ltd reached this commercial deal as a way of tackling the losses currently sustained by Crown branches.

Radio: Illegal Broadcasting

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to combat pirate radio stations.

Margaret Hodge: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Telecommunications: Billing

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with British Telecom on its additional charges for payment of bills by cheque or cash.

Margaret Hodge: I have not held discussions with British Telecom on this issue. However, I have raised the matter with the chief executive officer of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Ofcom is considering whether any of the changes BT has recently made raise any regulatory issues and is coming back to me on this in May.
	I understand that, BT has applied a price differential between customers who pay their accounts by direct debit and those who pay by other means for a number of years. This reflects the increased processing and debt management costs associated with payments not made by direct debit. Such differentials are common practice among communications providers and utility service providers.
	From 1 May 2007, BT is changing how it presents this differential from a discount for those customers paying by direct debit, to a charge for those paying by other means for a number of years. BT has combined this change with an increase of £1.50 a quarter in the charge (from £3 to £4.50).
	The Light User Scheme and In Contact Plus will not be affected by the increased charge. These are the special tariff schemes offered to vulnerable customers by BT as a result of the Universal Service Obligation placed on the company.

Trade

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what  (a) progress was made on the reduction of agricultural subsidies and  (b) deadline was set to complete the Doha round of talks at the World Trade Organisation at talks in New Delhi between the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India;
	(2)  what reports he has received from Commissioner Mandelson following trade talks in New Delhi; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what progress was made towards a successful conclusion of the Doha round of talks at the World Trade Organisation in New Delhi between the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India.

Ian McCartney: Following these discussions, Trade Ministers representing the EU, the US, Brazil, India, Australia and Japan (the G6 countries) issued a statement reaffirming their commitment to reach convergence and conclude the Doha round by the end of this year. This has been the clear message relayed to all EU member states by the Commission in subsequent Council meetings.
	The UK Government welcome this statement: we remain fully committed to securing an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the DDA. We will continue to press all WTO members to show the flexibility needed to reach agreement.

Wood: Russia

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the compatibility of recent increases in timber export tariffs from Russia with the standstill agreement Russia signed with the EU prior to its accession to the World Trade Organisation.

Ian McCartney: The European Commission represents the EU and negotiates on WTO accession applications.
	Russia's planned increases in export duties on timber are, in the Commission's view, incompatible with the bilateral market access agreement signed between the EU and Russia in May 2004. The Commission is in the process of intense discussion with Russia on this issue with the aim of seeing EU imports preserved.

TRANSPORT

Eurotunnel

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 April 2007,  Official Report, column 775W, on Eurotunnel, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the operation of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link should Eurotunnel go into receivership.

Tom Harris: In the event of receivership, the Concession Agreement allows for a change of ownership of the Concession, which need not have any impact on the operation of the CTRL.

Galileo Project

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timetable is for completion of the Galileo global navigation system.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) on 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1244W.

Motor Vehicles: Air Pollution

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the full life cycle analysis of the pollution caused by  (a) hybrid,  (b) fuel-cell and  (c) conventional petrol powered vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: There have been various studies of lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions for cars (although they have not compared different fuel technologies). These suggest that a clear majority—around 80 per cent.—of CO2 emissions arise during the operational phase of a vehicle's life rather than during construction and disposal. We therefore consider that focusing on in-use emissions remains an appropriate approach to reducing the CO2 footprint of vehicles. At the same time, manufacture and disposal are important, and we welcome measures by industry to address emissions created during these phases. With respect to fuel cell vehicles, life cycle CO2 emissions are likely to be largely dependent on the energy source used to manufacture the hydrogen for the fuel cell.
	The picture is different for pollutants that may affect local air quality, such as volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, and particulate matter. Industry figures suggest that over half of such emissions are created during manufacture and disposal of vehicles. For fuel cell vehicles, almost all the local air pollution emissions are created during manufacture and disposal.
	The picture is different for pollutants that may affect local air quality, such as volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, and particulate matter. Industry figures suggest that over half of such emissions are created during manufacture and disposal of vehicles. For fuel cell vehicles, almost all the local air pollution emissions are created during manufacture and disposal.

Railway Stations: Smoking

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will develop a joint strategy with the Secretary of State for Health to inform rail passengers about the imminent introduction of the ban on smoking on station premises;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that  (a) Network Rail and  (b) train operators make an early start in informing their passengers of the forthcoming ban on smoking at railway, coach and bus stations.

Tom Harris: The Department of Health (DoH) is conducting a significant communications campaign aimed at the public to ensure maximum awareness of the smoke free legislation before its implementation on 1 July. The Department for Transport has discussed the issue of communication with rail passengers with the Association of Train Operating Companies and Network Rail and provided advice to DoH on issues such as enforcement and signage arrangements on the rail and bus networks.

Railways: South East Region

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1384-5W, on railways: South East region, what definition he uses of overcrowding as a percentage of available capacity; and if he will consult train user groups on this issue.

Tom Harris: The overcrowding measure is derived from the number of passengers travelling in excess of capacity on all services divided by the total number of people travelling, expressed as a percentage.
	The High Level Output Specification (HLOS), to be published in summer, will set out the additional rail capacity the Government propose to buy to meet the recent and forecast growth in demand for rail travel. It is too early to say precisely where the additional rolling stock will be used: the rail industry's October 2007 response to the HLOS will identify this.

Roads: Construction

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on road building in each year since 1997, including funding through private finance initiative projects.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) on 10 January 2007,  Official Report, column 603W.

Smith Institute

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which Smith Institute events he has  (a) attended and  (b) spoken at in an official capacity in the last two years.

Gillian Merron: The Secretary of State for Transport has not attended a Smith Institute event in his departmental capacity in the last two years.

Tolls: Greater London

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the  (a) gross and  (b) net income from congestion charging in London.

Gillian Merron: Under the provisions of the GLA Act 1999, Transport for London are required to submit their future spending plans for net proceeds of the London Congestion Charging Scheme every four years. In November 2006 the Secretary of State approved their plans for doing so through to April 2010. There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London on the specific subject of congestion charging income.

West Coast Railway Line

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the status of seven day per week train services on the West Coast Main Line following the completion of track upgrade in 2008.

Tom Harris: The West Coast Main Line upgrade will be substantially completed in time for the introduction of an enhanced passenger timetable in December 2008. From that date, Network Rail intends to introduce revised arrangements for infrastructure maintenance works which will sharply reduce the number of occasions when weekend journeys are disrupted by route blockages.

TREASURY

Bank Services

Don Touhig: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken to promote and advertise the basic bank account to  (a) the unemployed,  (b) people with disabilities and  (c) the elderly.

Edward Balls: The Government's goal is that everyone should be able to manage their money effectively and securely through having access to a bank account, and the confidence and capability to get the most from it.
	This goal was set out in the Government's strategy to tackle financial inclusion, "Financial Inclusion—the way forward", published in March 2007. Since 2004 the banking industry has shared with the Government a goal to halve the number of adults living in households without access to a bank account, mainly through promotion of basic bank accounts. Latest Family Resources Survey data shows the number of unbanked adults had fallen from 2.8 million in 2002-03 to 2 million in 2005-06.
	Encouraging benefit recipients and pensioners to open bank accounts and make greater use of them is a key element of the Government's strategy to increase access to banking. Since the move to Direct Payment started in 2003, 98 per cent. of DWP benefits are now paid directly into an account. The Government provide information on basic bank accounts to benefit customers and pensioners to help them decide which account to have their benefit paid into.
	In January 2007, the Government launched the "now let's talk money campaign". The campaign is working with trusted intermediaries in regular contact with financially excluded people such as housing associations and charities, to provide information on the availability of bank accounts and other mainstream financial products and services. The campaign is advised by a stakeholder forum, which includes charities representing the elderly and those with learning disabilities.

Departments: Tribal Group

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts his Department awarded to  (a) Geronimo Communications Ltd. and  (b) its parent company Tribal Group plc. in each of the last three years; and what the cost was of each contract.

John Healey: The information is as follows:
	 (a) HM Treasury have awarded no contracts to Geronimo Communications Ltd. within the last three years
	 (b) HM Treasury contracts with Tribal Group companies within the last three years:
	
		
			  Description  Value (£) 
			  Tribal Consortium  
			 Replacement of IMPReS—Appointment of Project Consultant to conduct a feasibility study 10,430.00 
			 GSR Fast Stream 2007—Fast Stream Recruitment Services 15,533.00 
			 Tribal Resourcing—Newcastle New Recruits Conference services—January 2007 902.07 
			   
			  Tribal Consultants Ltd.  
			 Assistance with Application Training and Process work in Group IS at HMT 129,565.00 
			 Assistance with Technical Investigation and Procurement work in Group IS at HMT 133,000.00 
			 Total last 3 years 289,430.07

Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he received from the Bank of England before his decision to sell the Treasury's bullion reserves between 1999 and 2002.

Edward Balls: holding answer 20 April 2007
	Treasury officials provided the advice to the Chancellor leading to his decision to sell 395 tonnes of gold between July 1999 and March 2002. This advice was provided after technical consultation with the Bank of England.

HM Revenue and Customs

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the approach taken to local economic impact surveys will be in relation to offices classified by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as being individual locations, with particular reference to the Porthmadog HMRC office.

John Healey: HMRC is undertaking a series of regional planning reviews of all its accommodation to bring it into line with future operational requirements. For the purpose of these reviews offices have been grouped into three categories: urban centres, clusters of offices, and individual locations (offices more than 25km from any other HMRC office), of which Porthmadog is one.
	Each review will include a consultation exercise and detailed feasibility work. An impact assessment will be produced for every office, in all categories, which is identified at the end of this stage of the review process as a candidate for closure. The assessments will consider the social and economic effects of closure on staff, customers and the wider community. Final decisions will be taken in the light of these assessments.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 280W, on ministerial policy advisers, whether the Council of Economic Advisers is involved in announcements outside the Treasury's remit.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Treasury Press Notices of 4 August 1997 and 28 June 2006:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/1997/press_99_97.cfm
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2006/press_45_06.cfm

National Income

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average income of each decile was in financial year 2006-07.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 April 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the average income for each decile was in the financial year 2006/07. I am replying in her absence. (134501).
	Estimates for 2006/07 are not yet available. The latest data covers the financial year 2004/05 and is in the ONS analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'. This can be found on the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. The data for 2005/06 is due to be published on the website on 17th May 2007. The analysis is based on the annual Expenditure and Food Survey, which is a sample survey covering approximately 7,000 households in the UK.
	The table below shows both gross and disposable income for income decile groups. The income decile groups are determined by ranking households according to their equivalised disposable income. Equivalised incomes are standardised to take into account different sizes and compositions of households and are standardised in relation to a two adult household with no children.
	
		
			  Average incomes by decile groups of ALL households—United Kingdom, 2004-05 
			  Average per household (£ per year) 
			   Decile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income  
			   Bottom  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  Top  All households 
			 Gross income(1) 8,376 12,995 15,608 19,210 24,206 28,491 33,262 41,263 51,070 84,357 31,884 
			 Disposable income(2) 7,550 11,761 13,754 16,527 20,160 23,229 26,524 32,187 38,875 63,036 25,360 
			 (1) Gross income, includes income from wages/salaries, self-employment income, investment income, occupational pensions, and state benefits. (2) Disposable income is income available after the deduction of income tax, employees' national insurance contributions and council tax.  Source: Office for National Statistics.

National Insurance Contributions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how much would be raised if the upper income limit on national insurance contributions were to be abolished.

Edward Balls: The yield from removing the upper earnings limit for employees Class 1 national insurance contributions is around £8,880 million for 2007-08. This estimate includes the yield from the consequent increase in the upper profit limit for Class 4 contributions paid by the self-employed, and the cost of the increase in employee and employer rebates for contracting out of state second pension.
	This excludes any estimate of behavioural effects which could be significant given the scale of the change.
	The estimate is consistent with Budget 2007 assumptions and assumes that the NHS allocation contribution rates are unchanged.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from which Government Departments' budgets the additional £5 billion to be provided by central Government towards the cost of the Olympics will be provided.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 410W, to his earlier question.

Pensions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of interest rates on pension funds over the last 30 years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact of fluctuations in the stock market on pensions over the last 30 years;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the impact of pensions mis-selling on current pensions;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the economic impact of interest rates on pension funds over the last 30 years;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the total reduction in pension contributions due to pension holidays in each of the last 30 years.

Edward Balls: Key factors that have affected pensions and pension funds in recent years were fully set out by the Chancellor in the debate in the House on occupational pensions on 17 April. The Government are not aware of any systematic and quantified assessment of the relative impact of different factors on pension schemes over the last 30 years. The Annex to Chapter 3 of the Pensions Commission's First Report provides an analysis of the main long-term trends affecting private sector final salary pensions over the last 30 years. The Purple Book published by the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund also provides recent and historical data on Defined Benefit pension schemes.

Pensions Dividend Tax Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there were to the pensions dividend tax credit between 1979 and 1997.

Edward Balls: The rate of the payable tax credit on dividends for all tax exempt shareholders was lowered in the following years:
	1979: from 33 per cent. to 30 per cent.
	1986: from 30 per cent. to 29 per cent.
	1987: from 29 per cent. to 27 per cent.
	1988: from 27 per cent. to 25 per cent.
	1993: from 25 per cent. to 20 per cent.

Repossession Orders

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mortgage housing repossessions were recorded in each of the last 30 financial years.

Edward Balls: The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes calendar year data showing the level of repossessions of mortgaged properties, which is available at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/statistics

Tax Allowances

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total cost of the ending of means testing of personal allowances for people aged between 65 and 74 years.

Edward Balls: holding answer 26 April 2007
	The cost of removing the tapering of the personal allowance for 2007-08 is estimated at £360 million for people aged between 65 and 74 years and £220 million for those aged 75 or over.
	This estimate is based on the 2004-05 Survey of Personal Incomes projected forward in line with Budget 2007 assumptions.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Taxation: Overpayments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are taken to ensure that people who have made a tax overpayment are aware that they are entitled to reclaim it.

John Healey: There are three main systems by which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collect income tax from individuals: self-assessment, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and the tax deduction scheme for interest paid by banks and building societies. Overpayment of tax may occur in any of these systems.
	 Self-a ssessment
	The self-assessment tax return (supported by the guidance notes), the self-assessment Statement of Account and the Internet "View Liabilities and Payments" Service all offer people the opportunity to claim repayment of tax overpaid.
	 PAYE
	When HMRC carry out an "Initial Assessing Review" for a PAYE customer, if an overpayment of tax has occurred and all the necessary information is available, HMRC will make an immediate repayment. Failing this, they will write to the customer to tell the customer that there appears to be an overpayment of tax and ask for the further information required to calculate the refund due.
	In addition to this, the Form P45(2) issued by an employer to an employee on cessation of employment contains advice on claiming any repayment of tax.
	The HMRC website includes sections on "I want to claim a tax repayment" and a "Student Tax Checker" which enables customers to see whether they have paid too much tax based on actual income received.
	 Tax deducted from bank and building society interest
	A customer who has tax deducted from their savings income may be a non-taxpayer. A claim for repayment can be made by completing form R40 "Claim for Repayment". Every year HMRC send these forms to customers who made such claims in the previous year. Help is also readily available by phoning the "Taxback" helpline or visiting the "Taxback" pages of the HMRC website.

Taxation: Pensions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the net effect on contributions to the Exchequer would be if the pensions contributions by all individuals qualified for tax relief as basic income tax rate only.

Edward Balls: Latest detailed estimates of the annual cost of tax relief on approved pension schemes are available in Table 7.9 on Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/menu.htm
	If relief on individual contributions were constrained to the basic rate of tax, this amount of relief would fall by one quarter.

Tobin Tax

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how much would be raised if a Tobin tax of  (a) 0.05 per cent. and  (b) 0.1 per cent. was levied on all transactions on the UK stock market.

John Healey: No such estimates are available.

Unemployment: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals were classed as economically inactive in each London borough for each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 April 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of individuals classed as economically inactive in each London borough for each of the last 10 years. I am replying in her absence. (133787)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of inactivity for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of economically inactive persons of working age (males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59) resident in the London boroughs, from the annual local area LFS for the 12-month periods ending in February from 1997 to 2004 and from the APS for the 12-month periods ending in March from 2005 to 2006. Table 2 shows these numbers expressed as a percentage of the resident working-age population.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with caution.
	
		
			  Table 1: Economically inactive persons of working age( 1) : London boroughs 
			  Thousand 
			   12 months ending:  February  March 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  200 6 
			 Barking and Dagenham 23 22 25 24 32 28 28 29 31 31 
			 Barnet 45 43 39 42 43 42 42 53 54 49 
			 Bexley 25 25 28 22 28 28 26 26 24 24 
			 Brent 40 42 38 45 51 45 53 51 50 44 
			 Bromley 32 35 34 38 30 34 41 37 30 30 
			 Camden 31 35 32 31 37 39 38 34 43 45 
			 City of London (2)— 2 1 (2)— 1 (2)— (2)— (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Croydon 41 41 40 37 42 41 40 43 40 44 
			 Ealing 52 44 46 49 59 54 53 48 49 54 
			 Enfield 33 30 34 41 44 45 45 42 51 43 
			 Greenwich 34 35 31 30 29 34 40 38 39 35 
			 Hackney 41 31 41 41 45 46 45 48 52 57 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 26 29 28 29 28 26 29 26 30 30 
			 Haringey 41 38 42 41 49 50 45 57 46 41 
			 Harrow 25 24 24 24 23 31 32 32. 29 32 
			 Havering 24 25 22 24 24 26 23 22 28 25 
			 Hillingdon 24 24 28 26 33 31 30 36 31 32 
			 Hounslow 29 30 28 31 29 30 35 33 34 27 
			 Islington 29 29 32 28 40 35 38 35 35 41 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 25 26 27 29 27 33 35 31 39 33 
			 Kingston upon -Thames 13 16 18 21 20 18 18 19 22 21 
			 Lambeth 34 38 41 45 40 45 44 48 45 54 
			 Lewisham 31 34 33 35 37 43 38 39 36 43 
			 Merton 20 20 17 21 26 24 20 20 27 30 
			 Newham 48 45 49 54 62 61 63 65 62 55 
			 Redbridge 33 31 34 37 40 35 36 38 37 45 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 22 21 23 21 14 19 17 26 29 25 
			 Southwark 35 41 43 41 48 45 47 42 44 50 
			 Sutton 17 16 15 16 14 15 19 23 20 20 
			 Tower Hamlets 38 44 47 42 49 48 52 48 51 52 
			 Waltham Forest 37 39 39 30 34 37 38 41 41 36 
			 Wandsworth 33 41 39 32 31 29 36 35 40 43 
			 Westminster, City of 35 32 33 32 35 38 41 42 41 42 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Economic inactivity rates for persons of working age( 1) : London boroughs 
			  Percentage 
			   12 months ending: February  March 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  200 6 
			 Barking and Dagenham 23 24 27 26 33 28 28 29 31 32 
			 Barnet 24 22 20 21 22 21 21 25 25 23 
			 Bexley 18 19 21 17 21 21 20 20 18 18 
			 Brent 25 26 23 26 30 26 30 29 29 25 
			 Bromley 18 18 19 21 17 19 23 20 17 17 
			 Camden 26 30 27 26 28 28 27 24 31 32 
			 City of London (2)— 44 28 (2)— 28 (2)— (2)— (2)— (2)— 15 
			 Croydon 20 20 19 19 21 20 19 20 19 20 
			 Ealing 28 25 26 26 30 27 26 23 24 26 
			 Enfield 21 19 21 24 26 26 26 24 29 24 
			 Greenwich 27 27 24 23 22 25 29 28 28 25 
			 Hackney 36 28 34 31 35 34 33 35 37 40 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 24 26 26 28 25 22 24 21 24 24 
			 Haringey 30 28 31 29 34 34 30 38 31 28 
			 Harrow 21 19 19 19 18 24 24 23 21 23 
			 Havering 19 19 15 17 18 19 17 16 21 19 
			 Hillingdon 16 16 19 17 22 20 20 23 20 20 
			 Hounslow 23 22 21 23 21 22 25 23 24 19 
			 Islington 26 26 28 25 33 29 31 29 29 33 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 27 29 28 30 26 30 31 27 33 28 
			 Kingston upon -Thames 15 19 20 22 21 19 18 19 22 21 
			 Lambeth 19 21 23 26 22 24 24 27 25 31 
			 Lewisham 21 22 21 22 23 26 23 24 22 25 
			 Merton 18 18 15 17 22 19 16 16 21 23 
			 Newham 34 32 33 36 41 39 40 42 39 35 
			 Redbridge 23 21 24 25 27 23 24 25 24 29 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 19 20 23 21 13 17 15 23 24 21 
			 Southwark 25 27 28 25 30 27 28 26 27 31 
			 Sutton 16 15 14 14 12 13 17 20 17 17 
			 Tower Hamlets 35 39 40 33 39 37 39 37 38 38 
			 Waltham Forest 26 28 29 22 24 26 27 30 30 26 
			 Wandsworth 19 24 23 18 17 16 20 19 21 23 
			 Westminster, City of 31 28 30 28 29 30 31 31 30 30 
			 (1) Males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59. (2) Sample size too small to provide estimates.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey. Annual Population Survey

VAT

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with UK retailers concerning Low Value Consignment relief.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

VAT

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform Low Value Consignment relief.

John Healey: The position in respect of Low Value Consignment relief is set out in para 5.142 of the FSBR, published on 21 March 2007.

WALES

Departments: Intimidation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many complaints of bullying have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Peter Hain: None.

Farms: Contamination

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many farms, representing what total surface area, still have restrictions on  (a) grazing and  (b) other agricultural uses arising from the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl reactor incident in 1986.

Peter Hain: There are currently 359 holdings in Wales within the restricted area with 180,000 sheep under restriction arising from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
	There are no details of the total land area under restriction because not all the land attributed to a holding is necessarily under restriction. The areas affected are mountain grazings, the farm low land is generally free from restrictions.